Community
Red Deer high school student publishing a high-end magazine focussed on teen mental health advocacy
From Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools, Smiles Thru Lindsey, and Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre to help increase awareness of innovative new magazine
Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools (RDCRS) has collaborated with the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation and the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre to help increase awareness of mental health issues to teens through the innovative work of a local high school student.
Sophia Arnusch, a Grade 11 student from École Secondaire Notre Dame High School, has been making waves locally and internationally, through her self-published magazine, Sophia Lia, which centers around teen mental health.
Attracting attention from thousands of teenagers, community stakeholders, world-wide influencers, over 40,000 Instagram followers and celebrities such as Bethany Hamilton (who graced the cover of her first issue), Arnusch is striving to break the stigma around mental health and help normalize it. Driven by her own struggles with mental health, Arnusch hopes her magazine, which debuted in August, will provide a community where middle and high school students can go to get advice on all things mental health-related including self-care tips, healthy living practices, an email hotline called Sophia’s Hotline, just to name a few.
“Sophia has amazed us with the passion and professionalism she has put into creating such an engaging, informative and timely magazine. Promoting positive mental health is always at the forefront and is even more critical with what our youth are experiencing in today’s world,” said Principal, Rose McQuay at École Secondaire Notre Dame High School.
Rick and Cindy More, Founders of the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation, have experienced tragedy first-hand related to mental illness, when their daughter, Lindsey, took her own life. They hope to continue to help those suffering from depression and mental health issues by spreading awareness about it.
“We are inspired to say the least of the passion Sophia has for others and a work ethic that will change lives for the better. This project and its effectiveness is exactly what our Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation is mandated for and what our amazing Lindsey sought before her death in 2015. Lindsey will be cheering Sophia on every step of the way,” said Founders, Rick and Cindy More, of the Smiles Thru Lindsey Foundation.
As a Division, we are committed to our mission of supporting inclusive communities that foster care and compassion of students, families and staff which is why making the magazine accessible to all students across the Division is instrumental.
“Our focus as a Division this year has been on mental wellness. Getting this magazine into the hands of our students is key to opening up the conversation around mental health, in hopes to bring positive change in our students’ understanding and attitudes surrounding it,” said Superintendent of Schools, Kathleen Finnigan at Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools.
As the editor-in-chief, Arnusch hopes to continue to produce new issues of the magazine and keep mental illness at the forefront of conversations amongst youth.
Mark Jones, CEO of the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre, understands the need to amplify advocacy efforts for mental health, and as a result, their organization generously donated 1,000 copies of the magazine to help make it easily accessible for middle and high school students.
With a forward-thinking mindset, Arnusch is quickly paving the foundation to help create positive change for people living with mental illness.
The second issue of the Sophia Lia magazine is due out later this month. To learn more, visit https://sophialiamag.com/magazine/.
From the Facebook page of Nicole Maurier
From GoFundMe
News release from the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce
Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce to form Task Force on Homelessness in Red Deer
The Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be convening a Task Force of community and business leaders to address the issues of homelessness and identify actionable steps which can be taken to tackle this generational challenge in Red Deer.
“With the release of the City of Red Deer’s Point in Time (PIT) Report on homelessness last week we are very concerned and disappointed with the effectiveness of the strategies currently in place, and the urgency by which we need to turn this situation around within our city,” commented Scott Robinson CEO of the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce. “Clearly our current strategies are not enough, and we need to elevate the urgency by which we get things done to reduce the number of citizens who are without a place to live. The growing number of people who are homeless is not sustainable and is impacting on our sense of pride, safety and attractiveness of our city to business and industry.”
“We will share more about this Task Force and the next steps in the coming weeks. Time has run out to act with conviction, courage, and clarity. Our community and citizens deserve that from our community leaders, and we are ready to bring the business community and the urgency required to the table.”
Over the next 60 days, the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce will be reaching out to its business and social agency partners to build the Task Force on homelessness and establish a strategy to address the critical steps that need to be taken to reverse the trends and further our community’s vision as a vibrant and healthy city.
Matt Cassidy, Chamber Board President. remarked “Our Chamber is positioned to be the collaborative leader in connecting our business community, social agencies, and elected officials together, to find tangible progress on this complex issue. All businesses rely on the vibrancy of our community as they strive to be sustainable, innovative, or grow, and the results of the PIT Report indicate that we need to do much more. This task force will help hold our leaders accountable for the actionable progress needed and engage one another effectively.”
“In speaking with our membership, and those working closely with the vulnerable populations there are best practices and models for delivery that are successful in other parts of the world that we need to start implementing” says Robinson. In addition, we need to look at ways that our private sector can get more involved and bring their expertise and strategic thinking to the table. As a collaborative community we also need to ensure that governments at all levels are delivering on their promises of affordable housing and eliminating barriers to expediting these investments.
Established in 1894 the Red Deer & District Chamber of Commerce is a non-partisan, collaborative business leader representing over 825 member businesses. As one of Red Deer’s oldest and most established membership organizations we are striving to build a vibrant community that fosters an environment where businesses can lead, be innovative, sustainable, and grow.
Curious: Angela Merkel’s September 2019 Visit to Wuhan
The Vaccine Was “95% Effective” How?
Chief Clarence Louie and author Matt Tenney featured at Workforce Strategies Summit March 30 in Red Deer
Poilievre calls for testing that would allow doctors, nurses to work across Canada
-
conflict2 days agoCanada extends emergency visa applications for Ukrainians fleeing war until July
-
Health2 days agoOttawa to spend $1.5 billion to improve access to drugs for rare diseases
-
Alberta2 days agoHearings begin before Supreme Court on federal environmental impact assessment law
-
Business2 days agoFed raises key rate by quarter-point despite bank turmoil
-
Also Interesting2 days agoEverything You Need to Know About Legal Sports Betting in Ontario
-
Food and Dining1 day ago“Cook With Meg” creating community through online courses and camps for 3 years now
-
International2 days agoTake hard line on Canada’s digital tax, online laws, tech associations urge Biden
-
Business2 days agoCanada needs 300,000 new rental units to avoid gap quadrupling by 2026: report